|
 Niese pitched six effective innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates
to an 8-5 win over Atlanta Braves on Monday night while Matt Joyce
had a home run among his three hits and drove in three runs, Gregory
Polanco had three hits and three runs scored.
Niese (4-2) allowed two runs and five hits with six strikeouts and
two walks. It was just the left-hander's third quality start in
eight outings this season, though the Pirates are 6-2 in the games
he has pitched, and he improved his career record against the Braves
to 10-6.
The Braves put the leadoff hitter on base in each of the first four
innings yet Niese was able to pitch through all that traffic on the
bases without allowing a run. The Pirates led 6-0 before the Braves
finally broke through in the sixth inning.
"I pitch fast but I just tried to slow myself down and I was able to
make some big pitches when I needed to," Niese said.
 Joyce stepped into the starting lineup and played right field as
left fielder Starling Marte was placed on the paternity list before
the game after his wife gave birth to a daughter in the morning.
Polanco moved from right field to left to take Marte's spot.
Joyce connected for his fifth home run, a two-run shot deep into the
right-field bleachers, off Alexi Ogando in the seventh inning to
increase the Pirates' lead to 8-2.
It continued an amazing turnaround for Joyce, who is hitting .372
this season after hitting just .181 for the Los Angeles Angels a
year ago. His five homers match his total from 2015.
Joyce worked with two hitting instructors in the offseason near his
home in the Tampa, Fla., area and also played winter ball in the
Dominican Republic.
"It feels great to be able to have this type of success after the
work in the offseason," Joyce said. "I didn't know which way my
career was going to go. I'm extremely happy that I've bounced back
to show I can still be a major league player."
Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 12th save in 13
opportunities.
David Freese had two of the 13 hits by the Pirates (20-17).
Francisco Cervelli and Josh Harrison each drove in two runs.
The Braves lost for the ninth time in 11 games in falling to 9-28,
the worst record in the major leagues.
Atlanta's runs came on a pair of homers, a two-run blast by Jeff
Francoeur in the sixth off Niese that made it 6-2 and a three-run
shot by Kelly Johnson in the eighth off Cory Luebke that cut the
deficit to 8-5.
It was the first multi-homer game since opening day for the Braves,
who have gone deep just 11 times in 37 games, easily the lowest
figure in the major leagues. Francoeur and Johnson connected for the
first time this season.
"It bothers your pride when you're into mid-May and the majority of
us are looking at zero in the home run column," Johnson said. "Most
home runs are circumstantial but you run into some over the course
of the season. We have the power for it to happen and hopefully
we'll start getting runs in bunches."
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Johnson and Freddie Freeman had two hits each for the Braves.
Williams Perez (1-1) was tagged for six runs and nine hits in six
innings. In his previous start, he held Philadelphia Phillies to one
run and two hits in eight innings for the win last Wednesday.
"I felt like I had a little bit of bad luck," Perez said. "I felt
like some balls were finding some holes and that hurt me a little
bit."
The Pirates jumped on Perez for three runs in the first inning. The
first scored on a wild pitch and the second came on a groundout by
Cervelli before Joyce capped the frame with an RBI single.
A two-run third increased the lead to 5-0. Cervelli singled in a run
and Harrison drove in a run on a ground out.
Harrison had another RBI in the fifth when he tripled into the
right-field corner.
NOTES: OF Starling Marte was placed on the paternity list and INF/OF
Alen Hanson was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Hanson struck
out as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning in his major league at
debut. ... Pirates 3B Jung Ho Kang was not in the lineup after
starting all three games of the weekend series against the Cubs at
Chicago. INF David Freese started at third. The Pirates are slowly
working Kang back into action as he was activated from the disabled
list May 6 after undergoing reconstructive left knee surgery last
September. ... Braves RHP Shea Simmons pitched one scoreless inning
Monday night as he began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett,
striking out the side while allowing one hit and one walk. It was
the first time Simmons had pitched since 2014 after missing all last
season and the beginning of this one while recovering from Tommy
John reconstructive elbow surgery. ... Braves rookie RHP Aaron Blair
(0-2, 4.05 ERA) is scheduled to face RHP Juan Nicasio (3-3, 4.34
ERA) on Tuesday night in the second game of the four-game series.
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